Who to notify when you move house

The list is longer than anyone expects, and it isn't the length that catches people out — it's that a handful of these have real deadlines attached while the rest can wait, and nothing tells you which is which. So people do the easy ones first and discover the DVLA one in month three.

This page sorts them by that, not alphabetically. Start at the top.

Do these first — they carry a legal duty or a penalty

Money and insurance — do these before moving day

These matter because getting them wrong is expensive rather than merely annoying. Your home and contents insurance is the one to be careful about: cover is tied to the address, and there is often a gap on moving day itself when your belongings are in a van and neither property's policy clearly covers them. Ask your insurer directly about the day itself, not just the new address.

• Bank and building society — every account, including ones you never use
• Credit cards and any store cards
• Mortgage lender, or your landlord and letting agent
• Home and contents insurance — ask specifically about moving-day cover
• Car insurance — your premium is partly set by where the car is parked overnight, so this can change your price
• Life insurance and any protection policies
• Pension providers, including old workplace schemes you've lost track of
• Premium Bonds and any savings or investment accounts
• Student Loans Company, if you're repaying

Utilities and the home

Take meter readings at both properties on the day, and photograph them with the date visible. This is the single cheapest piece of admin in the whole move and it settles almost every billing dispute that follows one.

• Electricity supplier — final reading at the old address, opening reading at the new
• Gas supplier — same
• Water — note that in much of the UK you cannot choose your supplier, so this is a transfer rather than a switch
• Broadband and landline — book this earliest of everything on the page; installation lead times are routinely two to four weeks and occasionally much worse
• Mobile provider, for billing address
• TV or streaming subscriptions tied to an address
• Any boiler cover or home emergency policy

Health, family and work

• GP surgery — register with a new one if you're moving out of the practice's catchment
• Dentist and optician
• Any hospital or clinic with an open referral, so appointment letters follow you
• Your children's school, and the new local authority if you're changing schools
• Your employer's HR or payroll — this affects your payslip and your tax record
• HMRC, particularly if you're self-employed or claiming anything
• DWP, if you receive any benefits or the State Pension
• Your vet, and update your pet's microchip record — this one is a legal requirement for dogs

The ones people forget until something goes wrong

None of these are urgent. All of them cause a small irritation months later — a parcel to the old house, a renewal notice you never see, a subscription you can't cancel because the account address doesn't match.

• Online shopping accounts with a saved default address — this is the most common source of a misdelivered parcel
• Amazon, and any subscribe-and-save deliveries
• Breakdown cover
• Gym or club memberships
• Professional bodies and trade unions
• Charities you give to by direct debit
• Magazine and newspaper subscriptions
• Loyalty schemes that post vouchers
• Anyone holding a will, deed, or power of attorney — including your solicitor
• Passport office, at your next renewal rather than immediately

How to get through it without losing track

1. 1

   Write the letter once

   Nearly all of these want the same four facts: your name, the old address, the new address, and the date it changes. Draft that once and reuse it rather than composing forty times.

2. 2

   Do the legal ones in week one

   The DVLA, council tax and electoral roll items above. They're the only ones with a real penalty, and they're all quick.

3. 3

   Book broadband before anything else

   It has the longest lead time by a wide margin and it's the one that actually affects your first week in the house.

4. 4

   Keep a list you tick off

   Not because it's complicated, but because it's spread over weeks and interleaved with a house move. Anything you're holding in your head at that point will be dropped.

That last step is what MovePlan does. You enter your move date and both addresses, and you get a dated plan of every task plus six of these letters already written with your details in them — bank, insurer, DVLA, TV Licensing, GP and electoral roll — ready to print or paste into a form.